The Television Critics Association announced the nominees for its 35th annual TCA Awards, which will be presented in August. Those include 10 reality TV shows and documentary series across two categories.

The nominees were chosen by the members of the Television Critics Association. A press release says that “[m]ore than 220 professional television critics and journalists from the United States and Canada voted,” and that includes me, since I’m a member and serve on the TCA’s board of directors.

The Outstanding Achievement in News and Information category has both news programs and documentary reality series as nominees. The exact same thing happened last year—in fact, the same two news shows were nominated, so the difference in the category are just the documentary reality series:

60 Minutes, CBS (2012 Winner in Category)

America To Me, Starz

Leaving Neverland, HBO

Our Planet, Netflix

The Rachel Maddow Show, MSNBC

Surviving R. Kelly, Lifetime

Two of those shows had significant cultural impact earlier this year, giving voice to victims of abuse by two different celebrities.

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about Andy Dehnart

Andy Dehnart’s writing and criticism about television, culture, and media has appeared on NPR and in Vulture, Pacific Standard, The Los Angeles Times, and other publications. He has covered reality television for more than 18 years, and created reality blurred in 2000.

A member of the Television Critics Association who serves on its board of directors, Andy, 41, also directs the journalism program at Stetson University in Florida, where he teaches creative nonfiction and journalism. He has an M.F.A. in nonfiction writing and literature from Bennington College. Learn more about reality blurred and Andy.

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about reality blurred

reality blurred is your guide to the world of reality TV and unscripted entertainment, with reality show reviews, news, and analysis. It was created in 2000 by Andy Dehnart. He's still writing and publishing it today.

reality blurred is regularly updated with highlights from the world of reality TV: news and analysis; behind-the-scenes reports; interviews with reality TV show cast members and producers; and recaps and reviews of these reality TV shows, including Survivor, Big Brother, The Great British Baking Show, Shark Tank, The Amazing Race, The Bachelor, Project Runway, Dancing with the Stars, Top Chef, and many more.